Hi everyone. Looking for some advice. We are currently at my parents house for the next week. They have a lovely 12 month old jack Russell. She is very sweet but also very playful and rough. Milly is now 3 months old and pretty much able to stand up to her most of the time. My concern is how much rough play is too much.we arrived at lunch today and let them play for about 2.5hours but they just kept at it. Well I think Milly had had enough but just kept getting brought back into it by Jessie. I locked Milly up for a couple hours rest and then pretty much did the same thing over again. I am a bit concerned I guess with how rough they play for sooo long. They just didn't seem to stop even when it looked like they were exhausted. Well I think Milly wanted to stop but Jessie just kept at it. I am a bit worried about injury as Milly keeps tripping over her own feet or being knocked over by Jessie (even though Milly is quite a bit bigger) should I reduce the play time and just have Milly locked up for more rest or just let them go? Jessie can be a bit possessive of her people so I will be locking her up if everyone is sitting around outside. Especially the kids. Any advise welcome. She is quite happy in her crate for periods of about 2 hours during the day. Just not sure what to do. I really did think they would play hard for a while then crash in exhaustion. But apparently not.
Re: Rough play Thats the trouble , they simply dont know when enough is enough : : I think, as Millie is still a very young puppy, that I would tend to step in and crate her for a short time, recharge the batteries I wouldnt worry too much about the roughness of the play, just maybe limit it a little . We had a smiliar situation when visiting one of my daughters for a few days , her 6 month old Jack Russell puppy was besotted with Millie and Sam , the three of them didnt need a walk for the time we were there
Re: Rough play I agree. Don't worry about the roughness. But do introduce breaks when it looks like it's at its most full-on (don't make them stop when they are playing 100% nicely as that'd constitute a kind of punishment). Stopping just before that 'absolutely berserk' stage will help to teach Milly to self regulate and stop for a breather and it will also prevent anyone from getting to the point where they really have had enough and have to resort to snapping.
Re: Rough play Thanks for your help. Today went ok. Milly has worked out how to stick up for herself which unfortunately did cause a few altercations but nothing too serious. Jessie is also very protective and jealous off my dad so he is pretty much unable to pat Milly. When he tries Jessie lets her know in no uncertain terms that he is hers. Lol But all in all I think they are working it all out.
